Holders for rimmed articles



March 31, 1970 F. 0. LAWRENCE 3,

HOLDERS FOR RIMMED ARTICLES Filed Oct. 7, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 awn I MMN KMW 46d @NM km @N March 31, 1970 F. D. LAWRENCE 3,

' HOLDERS FOR RIMMED ARTICLES Filed Oct. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR FEM/z Oa /1416400541: e-

OZM MI Q ATTORNEY March 31, 1970 F. D. LAWRENCE 3,503,498

HOLDERS FOR RIMMED ARTICLES H C 3 m? a V 0 m NIH/MT fi f/ m NM A m S z 3 4 Z B Filed Oct. v, 1968 United States Patent HOLDERS FOR RIMMED ARTICLES Frank D. Lawrence, 387 Chickerell Road,

Weymouth, Dorset, England Filed Oct. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 765,309 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 13, 1967, 46,861/ 67 Int. (:1. B6$d 61/00 US. Cl. 206-65 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A holder, preferably made from a one-piece blank, which is snapped on the rimmed ends of articles arranged in a row, comprising an end wall for disposing adjacent to one end of a rimmed article, two side members connected to the end wall for disposing at opposite sides of said article and having rim-holding means for holding the rim formed at said end of said article, two tie walls connected to the side members and inwardly directed therefrom towards said end wall and having openings for receiving the body portion of said article adjacent to said rim of said article, and two strut members for disposing between said end of said article and the end wall, at least a part of each strut member being outwardly directed from, and bordered with, a hinge line connecting said strut member to the adjacent tie wall.

This invention relates to a holder for at least one article with a rimmed end, e.g. a can containing beer, soft drink or a food product. In particular the invention relates to such a holder which is intended to hold a plurality of identical articles with rimmed ends in closely adjacent relationship to one another.

Folded cardboard holders for cans are known which comprise side walls in which edges are cut for the reception of the rims of a plurality of cans, these holders being of the kind that is disposed at the tops of a plurality of cans in a single row. One holder of this kind is not sufiiciently secure against lateral displacement of weighty cans in the holder and another, while more secure, requires the use of an adhesive in its construction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a holder for at least one article with a rimmed end which does not necessarily require the use of an adhesive in its construction and which is particularly secure against lateral displacement of the rimmed article held by the holder.

According to the invention, a holder of the kind which is snapped on the rimmed ends of articles arranged in a row, comprises an end wall for disposing adjacent to one end of a rimmed article, two side members connected to the end wall for disposing at opposite sides of said article and having rim-holding means for holding the rim formed at said end of said article, two tie walls connected to the side members and inwardly directed therefrom towards said end wall and having openings for receiving the body portion of said article adjacent to said rim of said article, and two strut members for disposing between said end of said article and the end wall, at least a part of each strut member being outwardly directed from, and bordered with, a hinge line connecting said strut memher to the adjacent tie wall.

The holder according to the invention is economical in material, it may be applied to rimmed articles by hand or by machine, and it can be made from a blank which may be delivered to the packer in the flat condition.

One embodiment of a holder in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a plan of a blank of cardboard for making an embodiment of the holder for holding three identical right-circular cylindrical cans arranged side-by-side in a single row,

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the blank of FIGURE 1 folded into one particular suitable shape for applying onto the row of cans,

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the holder partly applied on the row of cans,

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the holder applied on the row of cans, and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the holder applied on the row of cans.

In the ensuing description, in order to explain in a simple way the application of the holder onto the cans, the holder is applied downwardly onto the upper parts of the cans. However, it will be appreciated that the holder can be applied on the bottom ends of the cans and also that the holder may be applied onto the cans in any convenient direction.

The blank 1 shown in FIGURE 1 is of generally rectangular shape and the distance across the blank between the side edges 19 and 20 thereof is substantially equal to three times the rim diameter of the cans to be packaged in a holder made from the blank. The blank is divided into nine end-to-end connected panels by eight parallel folding lines 11-18 disposed at right angles to the side edges 19, 20. The series of panels form, in the finished holder, two inner side walls 2 and 10, two strut Walls 3 and 9, two tie walls 4 and 8, two outer side walls 5 and 7 and an end wall 6. Three short, slightly tapered tongues 21 project from each of the end edges 22 and 23 of the blank. It is preferred that the folding lines 13 and 16 are weakened by providing along them score marks or interrupted slits.

In each of the inner side walls 2 and 10 there are formed three slits 24 which define rim slots and extension strut portions 25. Each slit 24 has a central portion, disposed at right angles to the side edges 19, 20 of the blank, connected at its ends to the adjacent folding line 11 or 18 by two short portions disposed substantially parallel to the side edges 19, 20. Each rim slot is defined by a rim holding edge 27a and two short edges 27b. Each extension strut portion 25 is defined by a central edge 26a and two short edges 26b. When the inner side walls 2 and 10 are folded about the folding lines 11 and 18, respectively, the extension strut portions 25 remain substantially in the plane of the strut walls 3 and 9. Each of the tie walls 4 and 8 is provided with three body-receiving openings 28. Each opening 28 is defined by a cut edge 29, which consists of two spaced-apart parallel straight parts 29a and 29b connected by two opposite curved parts 290. The tie wall 4 is divided into four parts 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d by the openings 28 and, similarly, the tie wall 8 is divided into four parts 8a, 8b, 8c and 8:1 by the openings 28.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, to prepare the blank of FIGURE 1 for application onto the row of three upright cans C placed on a plane surface, the blank is folded about the folding lines 11*18 into approximately the shape shown in FIGURE 2, the short tapered tongues 21 being sprung against the edge parts 29a of the body-receiving openings 28 to hold the group of walls 8, 9 and 10 and the group of walls 2, 3 and 4 each in substantially triangular relationship. Although the tongues 21 are provided for conveniently holding said groups of walls in position prior to placing the holder on the ends of the cans, these tongues 21 may be eliminated if preferred. The edge parts 2911 which are disposed in line with the folding lines 12 and 17 are then placed on the upper ends of the cans C in the manner shown in FIGURE 2, each of the three pairs of associated openings 28 in the tie walls 4 and 8 being arranged approximately centrally over a respective can.

To apply the holder onto the upper parts of the cans, the end wall 6 is simply pushed downwardly.

In FIGURE 3, it can be seen how the converging inner side walls 2 and 10 and the tie walls 4 and 8 have guided the holder onto the cans. It is therefore not necessary to align the holder exactly with the row of cans, when placing the holder on the ends of the cans as shown in FIGURE 2.

It can also be seen in FIGURE 3 that the inner side walls 2 and 10 are bowed outwardly in the regions of the rim-holding edges 27a by the rim R of the can C. When the rim-holding edges 27a pass the rim R, they snap back inwardly into the rim holding position shown in FIGURE 4. The end edges 22 and 23 of the inner side walls 2 and 10, being held against the folding lines 13 and 16, prevent the outer side walls 5 and 7 from upward movement wtih respect to the cans C and therefore the walls of the holder are locked in position, until it is desired to remove the cans from the holder.

FIGURE 4 shows how the lower ends of the outer side walls are held securely inwardly by the tie walls 4 and 8 and also shows how the lateral displacement of the cans in the direction of the row of cans and in the direction at right angles to the row of cans is prevented by the tie walls and side walls. It will be realised that the prevention of lateral displacement of the cans in the direction at right angles to the row of cans is important, ot ensure that the rim-holding edges do not become disengaged from the rims of the cans, when, for example, the holder package is shipped with others.

FIGURE 5 shows the structurally strong arrangement of the folded walls of the holder ensuring the minimum of deflection of the holder, when it is handled.

As can be seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, the edges 26a of the extension strut portions 25 are pressed against the Walls of the holder in the regions of the folding lines 14 and 15. Therefore when the holder is pushed onto the cans, the ends of the strut walls 3 and 9 at the folding lines 12 and 17 are pushed inwardly towards each other.

Consequently, the outer side Walls 5 and 7 are pulled inwardly towards each other by the tie walls 4 and 8 and therefore the inner side walls 2 and 10 are also pulled towards each other. It is an advantage of the holder that the application of the holder onto the cans is facilitated by the side walls being pulled more and more inwardly by the tie walls as the application proceeds.

During the operation of pushnig the holder further and further onto the cans, a toggle like effect is achieved by the strut walls, in that the inward movement of the ends of the strut walls 3 and 9 at the folding lines 12 and 17 becomes less and less in relation to the downward movement of the holder. Thus, it is a further advantage of the holder that the application of the holder onto the cans is facilitated in that an increasingly greater inwardly directed force is exerted by the strut walls on the tie walls in relation to the downward force on the holder that is necessary to produce said inwardly directed force.

Again, during the operation of pushing the holder onto the cans, the folding lines 11 and 18 are pushed inwardly towards each other by the extension strut portions 25 and thus the inner side walls 2 and 10 are pulled by the folding lines 11 and 18 tighter and tighter against the cans. It is a further advantage of the holder that the application of the holder onto the cans is facilitated by the folding lines 11 and 18 being pushed more and more inwardly by the extension strut portions 25 as the application proceeds. Here again, a toggle like effect is achieved, in that the inward movement of the folding lines 11 and 18 becomes less and less in relation to the downward movement of the holder. Thus, it is a further advantage of the holder that the application of the holder onto the cans is facilitated in that an increasingly greater inwardly directed force is exerted by the folding lines 11 and 18 on the inner side walls 2 and 10 in relation to the downward force on the holder that is necessary to produce said inwardly directed force.

Although the holder and holder blank described in detail above is made for packaging three cans in a row, it will be appreciated that similar holders and holder blanks according to the invention may be made for packaging one, two, four or more cans in a row.

The holder described in detail above is of the kind that can be made separable into a number of parts, if desired, by providing the appropriate lines of weakening parallel to the side edges of the blank.

Although a particular embodiment of a holder and holder blank has been described in detail above, it must be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular holder or blank.

The invention includes the blank from which the holder is formed and also a holder according to the invention with one or more rimmed articles packaged therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder of the kind which is snapped on the rimmed end of an article, comprising an end wall portion for disposing adjacent one end of the rimmed article, a pair of first side wall portions connected to said end wall portion for disposing at opposite sides of said article, a pair of second side wall portions for disposing at opposite sides of said article and provided with rim-holding means for holding a rim formed at said one end of said article, a pair of tie wall portions connected to said first side wall portions and inwardly directed therefrom and directed towards said end wall portion and each having an opening for receiving the portion of said article which is adjacent said rim thereof, and a pair of strut wall portions disposed beside said end wall portion, each strut wall portion of said pair being outwardly directed from a junction connecting said strut wall portion to one of said tie wall portions and being connected to the adjacent one of said second side wall portions.

2. A holder as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said second side wall portions is provided with a rimreceiving opening having a continuous boundary for receiving said rim.

3. A holder as defined in claim 2, wherein each of said second side wall portions is provided with at least one additional opening similar to said rim-receiving opening and having a continuous boundary.

4. A holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said strut wall portions are disposed between said article and said end wall portion when said holder is connected with said article.

5. A holder as defined in claim I, wherein said holder is made from self-supporting sheet material.

6. A holder as defined in claim 5, wherein said sheet material is cardboard.

7. A blank for making a holder of the kind which is snapped on the rimmed ends of articles arranged in a row, said blank being made from sheet material and comprising a series of end-to-end hingedly connected walls which, in the finished holder, comprise in succession, a first inner side wall, a first strut wall, a first tie wall, a first outer side wall, an end Wall, a second outer side wall, a second tie wall, a second strut wall and a second inner side wall, said first and second tie walls being provided with openings and said first and second inner side walls being provided with rim-holding edges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,393,928 1/1968 Haufe et al. 29487.2 3,414,313 12/1968 Schwarz.

JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner 

